Lunatics who will fail bad.

^^^lol. What nonssence, adeer Al Shabaab a war based on bravado. As for the allegations, we know that for a fact. Muslim blood was shed in the streets of Mogadishu, Bossaso, Hargaysa by suicide bombers. And the excuse is misplaced anger. Note all the above even if true should excuse the actions of killing mass innocents, or does it ya Islamic scholars?

^^^lool. Adeer everything has its time. Remmeber Obama election, it was not about race. Thus Gen Abdullahi's is not about Erigavo..But the message will be of change, in Obama's case, change for the races in Gen Abdullahi's change for Puntland and specially Erigavo, but I am talking to another secesionist novice right?

Bossaso, is booming Thanks for the info brother, good news. While we do not make headlines we will have the last say. Development is the key. There is another important issue, once thats in place Puntland will never look back.

^^^NGOONGE. You are smarter than that to think we fight over such things. We were having a lively debate and Mr two Horns is for once wrong, he is a young Turk and I admire his strength, but on this occasion I will disagree with his stance.

^^^ Badhan Adeer what drugs are you on today? Adeer your news media claimed it was Al Shabaab, anyhow you have no intellegence and as for the borders, Ilkajiir blew up that myth..

^^^Ok so you are the US? As for your comments edo, A/Y did not bomb Hargaysa, killing countless innocents Al Shabaab did. Stick to the topic, get a hair cut and stay in school.

Badhan The ground game adeer. And yes Erigavo is part of Puntland no negotiations adeer.

^^^Adeer, stop with the secessionist nonsnece we know who runs SANAAG and its not you. Could you stop Gen Ilkajiir and his blue flag in SANAAG, no? Thus the ground game is simple we are moving forward with our elections. Anyhow did you catch the bombers yet, maybe you need to ask Mujahid secesssionist and the other mouth piece up Norf..

Amiirka Al-Shabab Axmed Aw-Cabdi Muxumed (Godane) Oo La Xaqiijiyey in Uu Hargaysa Soo Gaaray Qaraxa Ka Hor Daawo Sawirka Wararka laga helayo dad xog-ogaal ah oo ku sugan magalada Hargaysa ayaa sheegaya in Amiirka ururka Al-Shabaab Axmed Aw-Cabdi Muxumeed (Godane) oo ku howlgala magaca ah Sheekh Muqtaar Abu-Zubeyr una dhashay beesha........ ee degaanka Hargaysa uusoo gaaray halkaas todobaadkii ka horeeyay qaraxyadii 29kii Octobar ka dhacay magaalada, isla markaasna ka sameeyay abaabulo xoogan oo ku aadan dhismaha unugyo ka wakiil ah Ururka uu madaxda ka yahay. Xogtaan ayaa tilmaamay in Amiirka Al-Shabaab uu ku sugnaa magaalada Hargaysa mudo isbuuc ah wuxuna intii uu joogay u howl galay sidii uu uga dhisi lahaa degaanka Unugyo ka tirsan Ururka oo degaanka ah, wuxuu sidoo kale kormeeray intii uu joogayay qorshaha kama dambaysta ah ee fulinta qaraxyadaas. Ciidamada amaanka iyo kuwa sirdoonka Ethiopia & Somaliland ayaa ka warhayay imaatinkiisa iyo bixitaankisaba, waxaana caado u ahayd maamulka Somaliland inaysan taaban xubnaha Al-Shabaab maadaama aysan wax dagaalo ah ka wadin dhulka Somaliland. Waxa si joogto ah loogu daawayn jiray magaaloyinka Hargaysa iyo Burco xubnaha Al-Shabaab ee kusoo dhaawacma Muqdisho iyo Kismaayo iyadoo ay arijnkaasi ay ka warhayeen sirdoonka Somaliland. Axmed Aw-Cabdi ayaa intii uu joogay Hargaysa waxa si xoogan u ilaalinayay xubno ka tirsan ururka Al-Shabaab oo wali ku sugan Hargaysa iyo dhalinyaro beesha ka soo jeeda. Guriga lagu diyaariyay gawaarida la qarxiyay ayaa waxa laga ijaartay oday u dhashay beesha Arab oo loo hormariyay afar bilood lacagtood. Markii uu ansixiyay Amiirku howl galkii qaraxyadaas ayuu dib ugu laabtay degaanada Gobolada dhexe iyo kuwa Koonfurta oo hada xarun u ah. Maamulka Somaliland oo ka warhaya dhaqdhaqaaqyada ka horeeyay qaraxyadaas ayaa indhaha ka qarsanaya sidii ay bulshada Somaliland ugu soo bandhigi lahaayeen dhacdada dhabta ah iyo musiibada ka dhacday Hargaysa, waxayna dadweynaha dhagta ugu sheegeen in qaraxyadan ay ka dambeeyeen dadka kasoo qaxay Muqdisho oo u badan beesha ******. Ujeedada maamulka Somaliland ayaa lagu sheegay inay tahay iyagoo aan doonayna in cawaad iyo xiiso colaadeed uu ka dhex bilowdo beelaha ay ka dhasheen madaxda ururka Al-Shabaab iyo maamulka iyo maleeshiyaadka Somaliland oo qaab beeleed ku salaysan qudhiisu. Waxaanse la garan karin inta ay qaadan doonto siyaasada noocaan ah oo ah midii uu u burburay maamulkii dowladnimo ee Somaliya.

Norf and Mujahid Red Sea, Hargaysa bombings were they a victory for the Al Shabaab? Obviously they had the right to target, the Kuffar UNDP office and the puppet ruler Riyaales palace and those Ethiopian "office" or embassy. A good strike for the Muslims, dont you agree, worth the price of the civilains right?

Mr Two Horns, adeer you are not helping anything with such talk. LA, is part of Puntland, so is Erigavo and they are no different to Garowe and Galkacyu and so on. Emperor made a simple statement its the admins fault and not the people. Anyhow Puntland needs to wake up and get rid of the whole old group, this will take about another 5 years. However the fake Mujahids need to understand Puntland is not a simple issue you can understand. Che is good dude, gets carried away with the fake news coming from the south. Red Sea is just confused he wants to Al Shabaab to bomb Bossaso and leave Hargaysa as if the Arab foreigners care for the colonial legacy or the SNM bull.

Nuune, taking over villages and towns is one thing having a coherent strategy is another. Their tactics are simple, hit and run, make headlines and continue to be relevant to their main sponsors in the outside. Do they control any territory? or even "controlling" these areas brings no real cash cow to them. Mogadishu is the cash cow adeer. Also by staging such attacks specially the latest suicide bombings, sends a message that Somalia, needs international assistance against a terror network that is not home grown and who’s Amir is in the mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan. You get it don’t you adeer.

^^^Adeer Obama is a local, and he will have a great effect on Somalia and its peace. Read the post old man before you chase Duke's shadow It's not only that Obama scored crucial political points with his unbending stance in the televised debates - "We will kill Bin Laden. We will crush al-Qaida" (a Democrat, for once, outhawking a Republican on national security). That position also happens to fit with Obama's genuine view of the threat to America's safety. Whats good for Kenya is also good for Somalia.

Garoowe: Musharax Axmed Saciid Aw-nuur oo khado sharaf u sameeyay qaar ka mid ah Haweenka Puntland 11. November 2008 Garoowe(AllPuntland)-Axmed Saciid Aw-nuur oo ka mid ah Musharaxiinta u tartamaya xilka Madaxtinimada Puntland ayaa maanta khado sharaf u sameeyay qaar ka mid ah haweenka Puntland ee ku sugan magaalada Garoowe, isagoo khudbad uu kaga hadlayey barnaamijkiisa ku aadan ololaha doorashada xilka Madaxweynenimo u soo jeediyay. Axmed Saciid Aw-nuur oo horay u hayey xilka Wasiirka Dekaddaha ee Puntland ayaa ka degay xilkii uu ka hayey xukuumadda xiligan jirto, wuxuuna ku soo biiray musharaxiinta u taagan xilka madaxtinimada Puntland. Musharax Axmed Aw-nuur ayaa sheegay in haweenka Soomaaliyeed mudadii burburka ay kaalin muuqata oo wax ku ool ah ka qaateen dib u dhiska dalka iyo nolosha qoyska, sidaasi ay tahayna maamulada jira aysan ka dhex muuqan gaar ahaan maamulka Puntland oo ay ku lahaayeen tiro yar, wuxuuna ka codsaday haweenka in ay ku taageeraan ololaha uu ugu jiro xilka ugu sareeya Puntland. Mr. Axmed Aw-nuur ayaa u balan qaaday haweenka Soomaaliyeed marka uu ku guuleysto xilka madaxtinimada Puntland in haweenka Puntland ay kaalin muhiim ah ku yeelan doonaan xukuumadda iyo hey'addaha dowladda, isagoo ku amaanay Wasiiradda haweenka iyo arrimaha qoyska ee Puntland kaalinta muhiimka ah ee ay ka qaadatay horumarinta dhinaca arrimaha qoyska iyo haweenka. Axmed Saciid Aw-nuur ayaa mar uu ka hadlayey dhinaca dhaqaalaha uu sheegay in Puntland dhaqaalaha ka soo xarooda dalka uu ku filan yahay guud ahaan mushaarka shaqaalaha dowladda iyo difaaca dalka, isagoo xusay in dhaqaalaha ka soo xarooda dekadda iyo ilaha kale loo maamulo si qaldan. Mas'uulkan ayaa si kulul u weeraray xukuumadda uu Madaxweynaha ka yahay Maxamuud Muuse Xersi, isagoo ku eedeeyay in ay wax badan ka qaban weyday xaaladaha ka jira Puntland sida amniga, burcad badeeda, sicir bararka iyo soo celin la'aanta deegaanada ka maqan Puntland. Mas'uul kasta oo u tartamaya xilka Madaxtinimada Puntland waxaa uu hal qabsi ka dhigtaa inuu wax badan ka qaban doono arrimaha sicir bararka, soo celinta amaanka iyo deegaanada ka maqan Puntland, waxayna musharaxiinta ka wada siman yihiin eedeymaha ay u jeedinayaan Xukuumadda xiligan shaqeyneyso. AllPuntland, Garoowe

Many of our secessionists brothers and some sisters, have excused and encouraged the vile acts of terror against the southern population. They made excuses: For recruiting child soldiers For setting of landmines that indiscriminately killed civilians Assassinations of unarmed civilians most coming out of Mosques and public places Shutting down and targeting national institutions. Keep in mind that, the same folks supported the Riyaale regime in the wake of the suicide bombings of Hargaysa. They attacked Al Shabaab’s actions which were the same tactics used on a daily basis in Mogadishu, and the south. Thus lads what’s good for Hargaysa is also good for Mogadishu.

Bombs go of in Mogadishu Wow the Al Shabaab are great, they are warriors, they are fantastic. Kings of the hill wonderful men of honor and courage. Shiekh Abu Toy and Shiekh Arafat scarf are heroes fighting the cause of freedom. Bombs go of in Hargaysa: "Damn this is terrorism, this is horrendous, we must target these morons, these criminals must be brought to justice, we will not be held hostage to these murderous"

Garoowe: Musharax Axmed Saciid Aw-nuur oo khado sharaf u sameeyay qaar ka mid ah Haweenka Puntland 11. November 2008 Garoowe(AllPuntland)-Axmed Saciid Aw-nuur oo ka mid ah Musharaxiinta u tartamaya xilka Madaxtinimada Puntland ayaa maanta khado sharaf u sameeyay qaar ka mid ah haweenka Puntland ee ku sugan magaalada Garoowe, isagoo khudbad uu kaga hadlayey barnaamijkiisa ku aadan ololaha doorashada xilka Madaxweynenimo u soo jeediyay. Axmed Saciid Aw-nuur oo horay u hayey xilka Wasiirka Dekaddaha ee Puntland ayaa ka degay xilkii uu ka hayey xukuumadda xiligan jirto, wuxuuna ku soo biiray musharaxiinta u taagan xilka madaxtinimada Puntland. Musharax Axmed Aw-nuur ayaa sheegay in haweenka Soomaaliyeed mudadii burburka ay kaalin muuqata oo wax ku ool ah ka qaateen dib u dhiska dalka iyo nolosha qoyska, sidaasi ay tahayna maamulada jira aysan ka dhex muuqan gaar ahaan maamulka Puntland oo ay ku lahaayeen tiro yar, wuxuuna ka codsaday haweenka in ay ku taageeraan ololaha uu ugu jiro xilka ugu sareeya Puntland. Mr. Axmed Aw-nuur ayaa u balan qaaday haweenka Soomaaliyeed marka uu ku guuleysto xilka madaxtinimada Puntland in haweenka Puntland ay kaalin muhiim ah ku yeelan doonaan xukuumadda iyo hey'addaha dowladda, isagoo ku amaanay Wasiiradda haweenka iyo arrimaha qoyska ee Puntland kaalinta muhiimka ah ee ay ka qaadatay horumarinta dhinaca arrimaha qoyska iyo haweenka. Axmed Saciid Aw-nuur ayaa mar uu ka hadlayey dhinaca dhaqaalaha uu sheegay in Puntland dhaqaalaha ka soo xarooda dalka uu ku filan yahay guud ahaan mushaarka shaqaalaha dowladda iyo difaaca dalka, isagoo xusay in dhaqaalaha ka soo xarooda dekadda iyo ilaha kale loo maamulo si qaldan. Mas'uulkan ayaa si kulul u weeraray xukuumadda uu Madaxweynaha ka yahay Maxamuud Muuse Xersi, isagoo ku eedeeyay in ay wax badan ka qaban weyday xaaladaha ka jira Puntland sida amniga, burcad badeeda, sicir bararka iyo soo celin la'aanta deegaanada ka maqan Puntland. Mas'uul kasta oo u tartamaya xilka Madaxtinimada Puntland waxaa uu hal qabsi ka dhigtaa inuu wax badan ka qaban doono arrimaha sicir bararka, soo celinta amaanka iyo deegaanada ka maqan Puntland, waxayna musharaxiinta ka wada siman yihiin eedeymaha ay u jeedinayaan Xukuumadda xiligan shaqeyneyso. AllPuntland, Garoowe

This man will criple the networks around the world and notably the ones in East Africa..

Al-Sahabab oo lagu helay Ceel-Dheer Ceel-Dheer, Somaliya (Calanka.com) 11-November-08 Wararka naga soo gaaraya degmada Ceeldheer ayaa sheegaya in uu deegaankaasi ka dhacay xalay iyo saakay dagaal u dhexeeya kooxaha Al-shabaab iyo dhalinyaro deegaanka ah, kuwaasoo wali isku horfadhiya gudaha degmadaasi. Dagaaklkan ayaa qarxay kadib markii kooxda Al-shabaab ey weerar ku qaadeen goob lagu iibiyo khaadka, waxaana ey iskacaabin xoogan kala kulmeen dhalinyaradii goobtaasi ku sugneyd oo ka warhayay in lagu soo fool leeyahay. Al-Shabaab ayaa looga dilay goobtaasi labo maleeshiyo, sida aanu wararka ku heleyno, waxaana iminka la isku horfadhiyaa goobtii la isku farasaaray inkastoo ey iminka xabadu shanqarteedu yaraatay. Odayaal deegaanka ah ayaa isku dayay in ey kala dhexgalaan labadan kooxood, laakiin wali lama soo sheegin wax xal ah oo ey ka gaareen. Mid ka mid ah dhalinyaradii dagaalka kula gashay degmadaasi kooxda Al-Shabaab ayaa sheegay in ragga soo weeraray ey u badnaayeen rag aan u dhalan deegaanka balse ka yimid deegaano kale oo fog-fog. Waxaana uu intaa raaciyay in iminka ey iyaguna gurmad dirsadeen maadaama ey deegaanadooda soo galeen rag meel kale ka yimid oo aan deegaanka u dhalan. Cabsi dagaal ayaa ka taagaan deegaankaasi, waxaana la isu dirsaday gurmad ciidan oo labada dhinac ah. Dadka deegaanka ku xeeran degmada Ceel Dheer ayaa iyaguna heegan galay kadib markii ey ka war heleen in degaanka ey soo galeen rag ka yimid gobolo kale.

There is a huge row going on in MPLS. There are local teenagers missing, their parents are unaware of their whereabouts and their situation. They just disappeared. The parents have tried to get info from the local Mosques and are fuming at the fact they supported these institutions at the expense of their children. It’s a big mistake and this will create more division and trouble for the whole community. The Shabaabs are not Somalias future as Siyads Socialisam was not its future in the 70s. Its a fad, and nothing more[/b] Remember how long Qaunyare, Indacade, Musa Sudi ruled Mogadishu and the south? Abu Manssur and the rest of the clowns wont last that long..

Musharax Faroole oo soo gaarey magaalada Bosaso 11 Nov 11, 2008 - 11:38:07 AM Waxaa maanta Nov 11, 2008 soo gaarey magaalada Bosaso ee xarunta gobolka Bari [Puntland] Mushrax Cabdiraxman Maxamad Farole isaga oo garoonka diyaaradaha ay ku soo dhoweeyeen dadweyne aad u farabadan kuwaasoo ka tirsanaa qaybaha kala duwan ee bulshada. Musharaxa oo hadal kooban warbaahinta ku siiyey garoonka diyaaradaha ee Bandar qaasim Airport ayaa u mahad celiyey dhamaan dadkii halkaas ku soo dhoweeyey isaga oo sheegey inuu aad ugu faraxsan yahay dib ugu soo noqshada Puntland. Markas kadib ayaa musharax waxaa loo soo galbiyey Hotelka uu ka dagay magaalada Bosaso isaga oo halkaas kula hadley saxafaada ka howlgasha degaanada Puntland. Cabdiraxman Faroole oo halkaas hadal ka jeediyey ayaa kadib warbaahinta waxaa ay su'aalo ka waydiisay safarkiisa iyo qorshaha musharaxnimo. Waxaa xusid mudan in saxafiyinta waydiiso su'aal la xiriirtey mowqifkiisa ku aadan in xukuumada Puntland magacowdo guddiga ansaxinta iyo xalinta khilafaadka xubnaha Barlamanka ayaa ku jawaabey ineysan aheyn wax Dasturi ah balse hadii aysan jirin sharci hore oo qeexaya waa lagama maarmaan in Xukuumadu magacowdo eedii ka timaadana iyadu qaado. Dhinaca kale waxaa islamaanta ka soo dagey garoonka diyaaradaha Bosaso Musharax Nuradiin Aadan Dirie. Maamul goboleedka ayaa waxaa ka bilowdey olilihii dorashiinka iyada oo musharaxiin badan ku soo qulqulayaan gudaha Puntland.

Boosaaso: Musharaxiin maanta soo gaaray magaalada Boosaaso 11. November 2008 Boosaaso(AllPuntland)-Waxaa maanta magaalada Boosaaso ee xarunta Ganacsiga Puntland soo gaaray labo Musharax oo u tartamaya xilka madaxtinimada Puntland, kuwaasi oo ka yimid dibadaha, waxayna xubnahaasi kala yihiin Musharax C/raxmaan Faroole iyo Nuuraddiin Aadan. Musharax C/raxmaan Faroole oo dadweyne fara badan ay ku soo dhoweeyay garoonka diyaaraddaha ayaa waxaa halkaasi Saxaafadda kula hadlay musharaxa isagoo ugu warbixiyay doorashada Puntland iyo waxyaabihii ku dhaliyay inuu isku soo taago xilka Madaxtinimada Puntland. Mr. Faroole ayaa sheegay in uu ka mid noqdo musharaxiinta in ay ku dhaliyeen dad fara badan kana codsadeen inuu isa soo taago, sidaasi darteedna uu ku dhawaaqay musharaxnimadiisa xilka Madaxtinimada Puntland, wuxuuna sheegay in hadii la doorto uu isbadal ku sameyn doona dhinacyada amaanka iyo dhaqaalaha. Degmooyinka Puntland ayaa waxaa si rasmi ah ugu bilowday olalaha doorashada Puntland, iyadoo musharax walba uu booqanayo magaalooyinka waaweyn ee Puntland si ay dadka ugu sharxaan musharaxnimadooda. AllPuntland, Boosaaso

The president-elect is not a dove - he is just a much smarter hawk It'll be hard to demonise the Great Satan led by Barack Hussein Obama. But peaceniks shouldn't assume a kindred spiritComments Jonathan Freedland guardian.co.uk, Wednesday November 12 2008 That noise you've been hearing for the past week, the one that began in the United States last Tuesday before spreading throughout the world? That's the sound of a global sigh of relief. It contained a cry of joy too, of course, especially among black Americans and people of colour across the globe, seeing a man who looks like them ascend, at last, to the highest office in the world. But history will record November 4 2008 not only as the day when America elected its first black president, but as the moment when one of the bleakest chapters in the postwar era drew to a close. How else to explain scenes - on the streets of Athens and Nairobi as well as Washington and New York - of jubilation that are surely without precedent in the democratic world? What I saw in Grant Park, Chicago, last week felt more akin to South Africa in 1994 or Berlin in 1989 than a normal response to a regular election. The dancing till the small hours, the honking of car horns, the tearful hugs between strangers, these are images we associate with peaceful revolutions, the celebrations that might follow the ejection of a loathed regime. Perhaps that is how many Americans - and hundreds of millions around the globe - do indeed see the election of Barack Obama. For the past eight years, I regularly argued against the claim that anti-Americanism was on the rise in Europe and beyond. On the contrary, I said, most Britons and Europeans remained remarkably well-disposed to the United States: it was just the Bush administration they couldn't stand. The global reaction last week suggested I wasn't wrong. Witness the sheer speed with which - once George Bush had been dispatched - the citizens of the world rushed to embrace America once more. It turns out the world was not just ready but eager for the US to lead again; it just didn't want Bush to do the leading. The result is that the most pressing questions of international life now stand in a wholly new light. Part of that is the warm, amber glow of affection, verging on adulation, for President-elect Obama. (He is surely the first politician since Nelson Mandela whose face can be worn on a T-shirt without embarrassment.) But it's more substantive than that. Take the conflict that defined the age of Bush, the "war on terror". Instantly, that conflict is changed in character. It becomes much harder for violent jihadists to demonise the United States when the Land of the Great Satan is led by Barack Hussein Obama, whose African step-grandmother is still a practising Muslim. Before he has signed a single executive order, the president-elect has won a decisive battle in the propaganda war. It's not only Obama's name that will make the lives of jihadism's recruiters harder. He reportedly aims to order a planned withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, phased over 16 months, within a few weeks of taking office. As Obama vowed in the very last rally of his campaign - an extraordinarily atmospheric, late-night address to nearly 100,000 people standing in what was little more than an empty field in Manassas, Virginia - "I will end this war." What's more, Obama is open to negotiation in a way that separates him from his predecessor. In Afghanistan, the talk now is of finding "reconcilables": Taliban fighters who are not motivated by hardcore ideology and might be induced to lay down their weapons. Obama took plenty of heat for it in the campaign, but he maintains the same willingness to talk to Iran and Syria. And yet liberals and anti-war types should not declare the new president a kindred spirit too hastily. As Obama himself said in the now famous 2002 speech denouncing the Iraq adventure: "I am not opposed to all wars." It's true that he avoids the phrase "war on terror". But that is not because he thinks there is no war to be fought. His disagreement with Bush was that the latter had failed to define America's enemy clearly. It was not an abstract noun - terror - but a specific organisation with a specific leader, namely al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden. Indeed, one of Obama's central critiques of the 2003 invasion of Iraq was that it diverted attention and resources from the true fight - against the men who had actually attacked the US on September 11 2001. So peaceniks should not be surprised to read the report in yesterday's Washington Post that Obama "intends to renew the US commitment to the hunt for Osama bin Laden". It's not only that Obama scored crucial political points with his unbending stance in the televised debates - "We will kill Bin Laden. We will crush al-Qaida" (a Democrat, for once, outhawking a Republican on national security). That position also happens to fit with Obama's genuine view of the threat to America's safety. Having placed al-Qaida back in the centre of America's gunsights, the new president aims to defeat it, taking the fight to al-Qaida's enablers in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Even as he pulls troops out of Iraq, Obama aims to send thousands more to fight the Taliban. He was ahead of Bush in calling for the theatre of operations against al-Qaida to be expanded beyond the Afghan borders to include the tribal areas of western Pakistan where many believe Bin Laden is holed up. Put simply, Obama is no dove. He is just a much smarter hawk, his eye more sharply focused. The new disposition on Iran is similarly nuanced. The noises are much less warlike. Obama promises diplomacy and dialogue, and relegates force to where it should be: a last, not a first, resort. But his own advisers counsel that Obama is firm on this matter. He has concluded that Tehran cannot be allowed to become a nuclear power, not least because it would trigger a regional arms race. He will use negotiation to thwart that possibility. But if that fails, the use of force remains an option. And that's when the new global context could make all the difference. Imagine if John McCain had toured European capitals, trying to assemble a coalition for strikes against Iran. He'd have barely got a hearing. Two million people would have marched in London waving banners declaring: "We won't get fooled again." But if Obama were to make the case, explaining that he had seen through the nonsense of Iraqi WMD but that the Iranian threat was real, he would surely earn a very different response. In that sense if no other, armed international action against Iran might be more achievable under an Obama presidency than it would have been otherwise. Other areas are more straightforward. On climate change, a denier in the White House has been replaced by a believer. Tellingly, Obama's proposed bail-out of the American auto industry does not propose chucking money at Detroit to keep churning out the same old cars. Instead, Democrats want a loan programme to help the auto companies start making fuel-efficient vehicles. That fits with Obama's wider approach to the economic crisis - to see it as an opportunity to spend money to make America greener. In every sphere, Obama marks a break from the recent past. He will not be perfect; the disappointments will be real and may come soon. But for now, at least, we are entitled to that sigh of relief - and even the odd yelp of joy. • freedland@guardian.co.uk

Look no one should be anti Somaliland as an idea. However its just an idea. Its not a new or seperate nation. Its a regional area which claims special status. I hope for the progress of the people, but really there is nothing to get worked up about. Its not a new nation, just my old NW regions with a new name. Even the Morgan Villa in Hargaysa name was changed to Presidential palace. Good luck lads, I will oppose it when it becomes a soverign state untill then its the same hot air we get here. And SOL does not give recognition lads.